Windows XP Will Not Boot.

Hi, Im trying to fix my freinds computer with xp, well the first time i started the computer i got a error message saying, "Invalid System Configuration, Pleas Run System Setup" So i ran setup and all i see is that the time and date is off and the drives say unknown. So anyway i restarted and now it just goes to a black screen and says "strike f1 to retry reboot, f2 for setup utility". What could be wrong? Hard drive dead?

 

Open the case, and remove the CMOS battery for 30 seconds. (safer bet would be to replace with a new one)

Restart, and reset the BIOS settings. If the BIOS still doesn't show any drives, it's a matter of testing the drives in another system...or it could be the end of the motherboard.

 

ok, i opened the case and there is no battery, looks like someone took it out, lol. I dunno i have to ask this guy if he took it out or what. Would this cause it not to boot if it doesnt have a cmos battery?

 

hi, i think i fixed it, i opened up the case and to mu surprise it didnt have a cmos batt. so i put one from my old computer and i dont get the error anymore, i went to setup and harddrive and cd-rom are showing now, the only thing is i get the the screent that says "start windows normally" or safe mode and it gives u 30 secs or it auto starts, well i click start windows normally and it freezes. i dunno if it freezes or if its just takin long to load, i let i load only for about a min. so im not sure, i think it might just be slow because he has like a 75gb hd, and only 2gb left and the first window when u start the computer, the one that has the white loading bar and says the name & model of the computer, well that takes almost a min. to load. But im gonna put the hd on my computer and erase most of the stuff on it, run some ad-aware and all that stuff and see if it boots up.

 

ok i still need help, I dont get the error message anymore but now it keeps freezing. I thought maybe if i connected the hd to my computer and freed up some space, it would start but it still doesnt. It get to the screen that gives the options to start in safemode, safemode with command prompt, last known good config, start windows normally...etc. Well no matter which i choose. it freezes so i cant get any further than that screen. Also i replaced the cmos batt. and the password is still enabled.

 

ok i still need help, I dont get the error message anymore but now it keeps freezing. I thought maybe if i connected the hd to my computer and freed up some space, it would start but it still doesnt. It get to the screen that gives the options to start in safemode, safemode with command prompt, last known good config, start windows normally...etc. Well no matter which i choose. it freezes so i cant get any further than that screen. Also i replaced the cmos batt. and the password is still enabled.Maybe a corrupt windows file or a virus?

 

so you think its a corrupt file, if so is there anyway i can just find out what file is corrupt and replace it or is that possible?

(update, ok i hooked the hd up to my computer as the master drive and tried to boot it from there, it got a little farther, it got to the blue screen. DO u think i can write down the numbers from the blue scree, will that help any to identify the problem?

 

ok i got the error numbers. stop:0x0000007b (0xf894f528,0xc00000,0x00000000,0x00000000

 

Inaccessible Boot Device.

As DDP suggested, try using another hard drive if you have one...if not, find out who made the drive you're trying to use, and get the diagnostic software from the manufacturer's support website. You can get them usually in floppy or ISO format (to create a bootable CD).

Run the diagnostics. If the drive is fine, run a low level format (will erase everything permanently)...so you can install XP from scratch.

 

if i do the recover windows installation option does that erase everything as well? If so i guess thats my only option, just gotta ask the guy and see what he wants to do or if he has anything important he wants to backup before i do it.

 

The Recovery install doesn't do anything but remove and reinstall XP. But, if the drive is not accessible, not even that option will work. I do have one drive that doesn't work with the Master jumper option, but works fine with Slave...(yeah, go figure)...so it might be possible to install to a new drive, set the older one up as the secondary to recover information.

 

thanks but it actually does work now after the recovery install.

 

hi, i guess i still need help, the problem is NOT the hard drive. When i connect the hd to my computer it boots up perfectly fine. But when i connect it to the other computer it gets to the parts that has the boot option like safe mode,last good config, start windows normal. But when i click anything even safe mode it FREEZES right away. Not sure what else would cause it to freeze besides the hd, but the hd is good and working when i connect it to my computer. The cpu im trying to fix has 2 ram sticks, one is a 128stick & the other is a 256stick. I tried to remove 1 at a time and then boot but it still freezes so ram is good too. I dunno of there is some kinda hardware conflict or what? Should i just start pulling stuff off 1 by 1 to narrow it down?

 

well i think im just gonna go ahead and do a fresh copy of xp. as nothing else is working. I tried the repair install but didnt work. But the only think is his computer wont let me boot from a cd so can i connect his hd to my computer as the master and install xp from my machine?

 

no they are not the same, they are both dell but different models